1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an internal cleaning device of a machine tool, the internal cleaning device using a robot and a detecting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a machine tool, if chips generated during machining build up in the machine tool, the chips may be caught in a moving part, for example, and various failures may be caused thereby. As one of the chip removing units, a chip removing unit that is provided with a nozzle with a snake pipe and discharges chips to the outside of the machine tool by a cutting fluid during machining is known. However, since the range in which the nozzle can be moved is restricted, it is difficult to clean a chip buildup spot accurately and regular manual internal cleaning is required.
On the other hand, a system that attaches a cleaning device to a robot or the like and controls the position and the location of the cleaning device is proposed. In these prior art techniques, by moving the cleaning device in the machine tool, it is possible to perform a removal of chips in a wide area in the machine tool.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-113182, an automatic cleaning device of a machine tool, the automatic cleaning device allowing an air nozzle removing the chips and cutting oil scattered at the time of machining of work to the outside of the machine tool by an air blow to move independently of the movement of a spindle head and relative to the work in orthogonal three axial directions, is disclosed.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-322049, a device that provides a cleaning robot having an arm with a nozzle sucking in chips at the tip thereof in a movable body such as a cross rail or a spindle head of a machine tool, designs a movement path over which the nozzle can move and suck in the chips within a time which is determined by a machining program used when a tool machines work, and sucks in and discharges the chips by controlling the cleaning robot by outputting only the path data on an interference region from which a region in which interference with the tool performing machining occurs is removed is disclosed.
These cleaning robots described above each operate in accordance with the preset program, and no consideration is given to the actual chip buildup status. Therefore, cleaning may be performed more than necessary or machining proceeds to the next stage in a state in which there are still chips left.